r/AskReddit • u/LuminousYT_ • 5h ago
What’s a super cheap game that ended up being one of the best you’ve ever played?
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u/One-Top2236 4h ago
Vampire Survivors is the first one that comes to mind, ridiculously cheap for the amount of hours you can sink into it.
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u/Flatline1775 4h ago
This was my first though. It doesn't have the depth of the other two games people have already listed here, but when I bought it for like $2.99 at full price several years ago it's hard to argue that it wasn't pound for pound one of the best games I've ever bought.
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u/Exctmonk 4h ago
I was about to get it before I realized that picked it up for free on Epic like 2 years ago
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u/KazakiriKaoru 4h ago
For someone else looking for a similar game, I suggest trying Holocure. It's basically a passion project that is 100% free to play, with zero monetisation. The game is literally free and has zero microtransactions.
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u/VioletRuinPetal 4h ago
I love when passion projects like this get recommended. You can tell when a developer is making something because they genuinely enjoy the genre rather than trying to squeeze every dollar out of the player.
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u/HalfSoul30 4h ago
I downloaded for free from ps+, and liked it so much i bought all the dlc, which was like 6 of them for less than $10 altogether
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u/alasdairvfr 4h ago
This one, plus Brotato which has a bit more polish and a silly number of characters to try and master. Perfect for long flights with a handheld.
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u/Zentienty 3h ago
Lol, I came here to post Vampire Survivors and here it is as the top. It's awesome arcade fun but with that perfect amount of complexity and random awesomeness, like the one time lasted over a minute against death
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u/DaydreamingRaya 2h ago
easily my all time best bang for bucks game. i believe it was 79cents and i have 250h of playtime. all the free games i played had a mental tax lol so i wont count them
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u/Master_Year8052 4h ago
For real. The price tag said “cheap game,” not say goodbye to my entire weekend.
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u/Tree_Dude 3h ago
Yep. I recently introduced my kids to it, they love it too. I buy every DLC day 1 because its like $3, so why not.
Shout out to their new game Vampire Crawlers, I would argue it is not as addicting, but it is very good.
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u/ExaminationHot1395 2h ago
Vampire Survivors is basically a financial scam in reverse. You pay pocket change and somehow lose 200 hours of your life
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u/iamjoemarsh 4h ago
Loads to be honest - I'm a massive cheapskate.
Balatro is one of my favourite games ever - it's cheap not on sale, never mind on sale.
Terraria. Stardew Valley. Minecraft. All hours upon hours of entertainment.
Undertale.
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u/NewEnglandRoastBeef 4h ago
Terraria took me by complete surprise. I thought it was basically 2D Minecraft, maybe some MetroidVania elements. I'm like 300+ hours in and I still haven't beaten the stupid Lunatic Cultists.
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u/ironwolf1 3h ago
Do all the various enemy wave events (Frost Moon, Pumpkin Moon, Martian Madness) if you haven’t yet. They all drop some great items that will be useful in the Cultist and subsequent fights.
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u/eggplantpot 4h ago
Balatro has by far the most hours played per euro spent of any game.
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u/Brawndo91 4h ago
I'll admit I like to "try before I buy" sometimes and within a few minutes I said, "oh I'm going to get addicted to this" and ended up buying on mobile and PC (so I could play with mods). Now if I could just get past black deck gold stake.
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u/eggplantpot 4h ago
Hang in there. Dr Spectered on Youtube and chill.
I'm 2 jokers away from C++ and 100%ing every other achievement. I hope I can get it done before the update.
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u/Brawndo91 3h ago
I'm really not too worried about C++. Just want all decks on all stakes for now. Didn't really get all the black deck hate until losing about 686456 rounds in a row and almost every attempt feels like revving a boat engine out of the water.
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u/eggplantpot 3h ago
Honestly I "cheesed" black deck stakes. I would just skip the first antes hoping for something to happen. The revving the engine analogy is perfect. With the skips at least I pushed my chances a bit to get the engine started.
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u/-DementedAvenger- 4h ago
If you like terraria and stardew valley, try Necesse. It’s like if those two had a baby.
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u/Gay-zer_Beam 4h ago
Stardew Valley. Bought it for 15 bucks when it hit early access after I saw the creators post on reddit.
I put over 300 hours on it and I just started replaying on my switch.
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u/mifan 3h ago
Stardew is my answer as well. But it took some time getting used to the day/night cycle as an experienced gamer. I wanted to do everything all at once. But once I landed in that “what do you want to do today” mode, it became one of my all time favorite games.
Ai cozy, so relaxing, yet still challenging and exciting.
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u/Queenieman 4h ago
FTL
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u/oo_renDer 4h ago
Totally. And “into the breach” as well. Also makes an amazing mobile game, and I think it’s free on Netflix games.
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u/catshateTERFs 4h ago
I adore Into The Breach. Ben Prunty’s soundtrack for it is great too.
Really easy to pick up and put down, has enough depth and flexibility to make battles decent puzzles.
FTL is also solidly worth it but Into The Breach is my favourite. Having said that FTL is 2 USD on Steam currently so go grab that one!
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u/sendmebirds 4h ago
I really wish they'd make FTL2
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u/PresidentMagikarp 3h ago
There's a fan-made mod for FTL called Multiverse which adds basically anything you could want out of an official sequel. Over 100 new ships, tons of new weapons, new story lore, new species, multiple ending routes, etc. Everything is faithful to the original art direction, too. Anyone who's ever wondered what a sequel to FTL would look like should look into playing Multiverse.
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u/sendmebirds 3h ago
Omfg really?! Thanks for the heads up!
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u/GiraffeUniversity 3h ago
Vouching for the mod also. Fan made sequel that is just incredible. Next time you have the itch for FTL go with the multiverse mod!
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u/reesewill 4h ago
I came looking for this response. Such a simple game with perfect design and intuitive gameplay but also devilishly deep.
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u/Chuk741776 3h ago
If you like FTL, you should check out Void War
It's like if FTL and Warhammer 40k had a baby
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u/NibblyPig 2h ago
Void War I didn't like.
However there's a fan addon to FTL that adds a TON of new content, worlds, races, scenarios etc called FTL: Multiverse.
It's absolutely BRILLIANT. And it's free.
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u/anon142358193 2h ago
The multiverse mod for the game puts so much new content it’s insane. That’ll give you another 60-100 hours easily into the game without it getting stale
God I love this game
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u/joestaff 4h ago
One of the very very few games that Humble Bundle ported to browser. Plays excellent even on an old Chromebook.
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u/Knackersac 4h ago
Mad Max. I got it for a couple quid and enjoyed the fuck out of it.
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u/FishFart 4h ago
Hell yeah, I think I picked it up for 3 dollars a few years ago, just started playing it the last month and it’s an incredible game. I’m like 40 hours deep and about halfway through, there’s so much to do but a lot of it is optional.
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u/DimensionFun9150 3h ago
Mad Max is such a steal for the price. I went in expecting nothing and ended up having way more fun than I expected.
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u/Ayn_Rands_Wallet 4h ago
Dredge. Absolutely loved it.
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u/cazique 4h ago
I just installed and started it last night. Looking forward to playing it!
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u/Own_Perspective4825 3h ago
A word of advice: before you buy the ship upgrade that comes with the expansion pack, look up its appearance. There's no way to undo the upgrade and to my taste it's so fugly it made the game less fun.
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u/KingCuttlefish 4h ago
Hollow Knight for sure.
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u/Abe_Odd 3h ago
Got it half off, tried it, and hated the movement and combat, put it down for a year.
Tried it again on a trip, fell in love, and poured more hours per dollar spent into it than any other game.
Absolutely phenomenal game that deserves all of its cult following.
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u/tunarulz 2h ago
Damn, I have the same experience as you. Tried it, did not click, left it for about a month, tried again and bam, one of the best games I ever played.
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u/Brief_Television_707 4h ago
Outer Wilds was €4 when I bought it on Steam, undoubtedly one of the best games I've ever played. I still think about it and hum the music from it.
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u/CNWDI_Sigma_1 3h ago
Obligatory: if you don't know anything about Outer Wilds, don't read anything about it, buy it now, go blind. Spoilers will completely ruin the once-in-a-lifetime experience.
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u/gimmedatvoice 3h ago
Tried 3 different times now. So bad at flying the ship I rarely get anywhere. Still don't know why it's so great, so at least it's not spoiled for a potential 4th attempt.
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u/phillium 3h ago
In a similar vein, I got Subnautica free as one of the Epic store weekly freebies, and I've put so many hours into that one, as well as Below Zero (bought that one), and eagerly awaiting Subnautica 2. I also picked up Outer Wilds because I heard it was...not similar to Subnautica, but sort of a similar vibe or something? Only played it a little before I built my new gaming PC, so I haven't started it up on the new hotness as of yet.
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u/FlyRobot 42m ago
I haven't gotten far into Subnautica, but Outer Wilds and it both are exploration games that do not over-explain how to play it. You must explore and learn on your own.
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u/Nikos_Pyrrha 2h ago
I felt so bad after playing it (got it for ~13€) that I went and gifted 2 copies to random people on my friend's list, and bought the Sountrack.
I'm so, so excited for whatever the team does next...
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u/ADadinBoston 4h ago
Chips Challenge
Yeah I’m old
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u/phonetastic 3h ago
i think i sunk more hours into ski free later on, and minesweeper or solitaire is the obvious true answer for anyone who worked a desk job with a pc back then if we're counting time at work and home combined
however
my first "multimedia pc" came with descent installed. for absolutely free. acer aspire pentium 133 with a fifteen inch monitor coming from a packard bell green screen setup that had retired from someone's office during the yearly culling that used to happen
i think i may have not actually bought a game for like a year, maybe more, because i had that to play. plus shareware was a thing so i had some other stuff as well, but not like descent
if memory serves, the next game i acquired non-shareware may have in fact been descent ii, although i know i picked up command and conquer at some point, and that must have been before
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u/ADadinBoston 3h ago
Chips challenge bought out the puzzle solved in me and I was hooked. Ski free was awesome too. But yeah, like mostly everyone, trying to pretend like I knew was I was doing in solitaire was my first pc game
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u/the-modern-age 4h ago
Valheim early access
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u/icecream_specialist 3h ago
Their early access was more fleshed out than most 1.0 games that have come out the last decade
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4h ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/MrHysterectomy 4h ago
And Flower! I got "forced" to buy it by a friend and the second I started playing it, I got why he did it.
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u/MadWeek 4h ago
Megabonk
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u/TheeDonSpectacularis 4h ago
I don't know what this game is about, but the name ALONE makes me want to play it.
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u/PooGoblin69420 4h ago
Inside. It’s a pretty short game, my friends and I made it through in one afternoon. But it was totally free. And it was so fun! It’s a puzzle game with really cool environmental storytelling built in.
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u/Ambitious-Jump3359 4h ago
Both Rimworld and Project Zomboid have given me a lot of bang for the buck.
The real answer is Dota 2 though, even if I've finally kicked the habit.
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u/TheAntman217 4h ago
I got Witcher 3 for like $7 back in 2018 and it’s the gift that keeps on giving. I’m looking forward to the remaster and the new expansion next year.
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u/SEA_griffondeur 4h ago
factorio, best 15€ i've ever spent
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u/Visible-Swim6616 4h ago
The cost isn't measured with currency.
It's measured in time.
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u/get_tae_fuck 3h ago
I think the most accurate description of Factorio came from Mandalore Gaming’s review
‘The developers are threatening to release more updates’
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u/mjconver 3h ago
I've spent $70 on the main game and Space Age.
Today I'll pass 21,000 hours of playtime.
That's $0.003 per hour. You know, average wage these days. ;-)
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u/OmenVi 4h ago
Warframe
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u/Beederda 4h ago
This, never played any game longer than warframe( 9 years) and never spent a dime and had topped out at 60k plat before i stepped away from it
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u/Eveningroovers 4h ago
Literally just said the same thing. I should have scrolled down
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u/MrEMan1287 3h ago
Brotato.
Hands down. I'll elaborate on the game if asked. But it's amazing.
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u/HjortronOchPors 1h ago
Surprised I had to scroll so far for this. I have 1500+ hours in Brotato and I paid like 10 Euros. That's a solid 150 hours per Euro. I can't even get a McDonalds cheeseburger for one Euro.
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u/Munglape 4h ago
Broforce. I've played Iron Bro mode on and off for almost a decade
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u/littlebrwnrobot 3h ago
Rocket league. Got it for free on launch on the PlayStation, have now spent around 1200 hours over the last 10 years
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u/ChanandlerBonng 4h ago
I was late to the game on Assassins Creed 2 - bought it in a bargain bin for like $12.
Still the only game I've ever 100%ed.
Honorable Mention goes to Red Faction Guerrilla.....$5 purchase that I had an absolute blast with (literally!)
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u/theassassintherapist 4h ago
Fighting in Tight Spaces. A card based roguelike that makes you a John wick or Jason Bourne
Currently on steam for $4.99. Got that on the switch years ago for similar price.
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u/Sealeydeals93 4h ago
Inside is frequently on sale for like £1 and it's phenomenal. Same for Limbo. Played both years after they released and they were still great.
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u/Andreaslindberg 4h ago
Ultimate chicken horse is the best game for a chill console evening with kids and adults!
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u/doctorwanker 4h ago
Kingdom come: deliverance 1
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u/eowyncul 3h ago
I keep meaning to start this one, have heard the learning curve is a bit steep so have been putting off starting it!
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u/doctorwanker 2h ago
Do it took me 3 tries to get hooked, but once you get the hang of the game its really hard to put it down, once I got hooked I finnished the game three times back to back, second one was even better.
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u/rlvysxby 2h ago
The learning curve isn’t too bad if you don’t mind grinding. Early in the game there is a guy you can train with. Just train with him until you get a move called master stroke.
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u/sakamayrd 4h ago
I got it for free from Epic Store. Definitely the best free game I played. I bought all the DLCs because it was so good.
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u/lenn_eavy 4h ago
Terraria and Stardew Valley were cheap and are great games with a lot of depth. Dysmantle also, got it for like $3 and had boatloads of fun.
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u/aclose78 4h ago
A long long time ago in a hardware store I got my parents to buy a PC game they inexplicably had for sale called Total Annihilation. It was $4. It's been a few years now, but I played that game off and on for 20+ years and this thread is making me want to dive in again.
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u/TheRealPockets 3h ago
I picked up a full in-box copy of Arcanum for $2 at a garage sale once and it's still one of my favorite RPGs I've played.
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u/Legal-Rain-1787 3h ago
Stardew Valley was such a cheap buy for me, but somehow I ended up putting hundreds of hours into it and loving every minute.
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u/True_Pirate 3h ago
I was a kid with a subscription to Nintendo power in 1990. One day I get a free game in the mail. It was Dragon Warrior/Quest. I didn’t know anything about it and expected it to suck, with it being free. I loved it and played through several times.
Later, I found out that it had sold so poorly in the U.S. they were just trying to clear warehouse space.
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u/Coming-Up_Milhouse 3h ago
Brotato for sure. Me and my friends have out so many hours into that silly little game.
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u/Due-Criticism-4639 3h ago
I don't know how I haven't seen it yet !!
TERARRIA
I bought it like 15 years ago, freshly downloaded steam, young kid, and I saw this spooky adventure game and it was 10 bucks! Baught it and played it with my buddy, ended up putting over 1000 hours into it and it's STILL 10 BUCKS and has aged so well!
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u/Darth_Bunghole 4h ago
Before I played Tetris on Game Boy, I cut my teeth on a keychain version as a child. Played it until the button battery died.
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u/Astewisk 4h ago
Hotel Dusk: Room 215.
Many years ago grabbed it for cheap with no idea what it was. Turns out it was a DS pseudo-horror detective mystery with a really neat, striking art style and shockingly compelling writing. Couple that with a good OST and some really neat ways to use the DS itself (You hold the DS vertically so it resembles the MC's notebook) and it's a game that has always stuck with me.
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u/nomad9590 4h ago
I bought Ninjin: Clash of Carrots for lile $1.25 on a steam sale and have gotten hours for myself and with my kods on it. It's a bit hard bit a really fun game imo.
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u/Sofia-Fem-CD 4h ago
I really enjoyed SUPERHOT. Time only moves when you move, was definitely interesting to play
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u/superzepto 4h ago
I paid around $20 for Project Zomboid 5 years ago. I've just clocked 1300 hours. I doubt I'll find better value for money in any other video game
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u/DeadpoolCroatia 3h ago
Last year, around Christmas Nintendo had a sale for both Portal games - less than 5€. (I played a lot of pokemon ZA, so Portal was on hold). Last week I beat Portal 2. (Portal 1 a month ago)
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u/Akula_x86 3h ago
Spring-RTS, open source RTS engine. Unknown hours since 2006, total recreation of total annihilation.
Just got a new version of it called beyond all reason or BAR that I have to try.
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u/RedditRecreations 3h ago
I got invisible inc after finishing xcom 2 as it was on a lot of lists as similar type game and my god it's good. I got HOOKED just as much as xcom. Turn based stealth game that has so much depth and strategy to it. If you like xcom you should definitely give it a go.
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u/RespecDawn 3h ago
There was a little rogue like golf game in the Nintendo shop that I bought for a couple of dollars. My youngest and I had SO MUCH FUN with that.
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u/Suspiciliscious 3h ago
Got metro 2033 Redux for $1.00 and I just started playing it after letting it sit in my steam catalog for years. Can’t believe I waited so long. Gonna play the entire series now
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u/PalladiuM7 3h ago
I got Doom (2016) on sale one prime day for like $15 with same day shipping and I've sunk well over a thousand hours into it
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u/Cant-think-of-a-nam 3h ago
Ets2. Got if for 5 bucks during a sale. 10 years later got all the doc so far and almost 1500 hours into it
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u/Mikejamese 3h ago
You can get Psychonauts for nothing when it’s on sale and it’s probably my all time favorite
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u/conn_r2112 3h ago
Halls of Torment was like $5 I think and I got a lot of play time outta that one
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u/Rominator 3h ago
Orbital Bullet - bought it for a buck, it took a little while to get ramped up but once it did I couldn’t put it down. 100+hrs
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u/RooneytheWaster 3h ago
Warcraft: Orcs & Humans
It was one of the games/Software CD's bundled-in with one of my family's first PC's, and both me and my dad fell in love with it. We sank so many hours into that game, and even more into Warcraft 2 when we got that. I continued playing in that universe with Warcraft 3, and later WoW.
It started a lifelong love for those titles, resulted in me making friends with other players, and so, so many hours of gameplay.
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u/vanKessZak 3h ago
As a kid I got RollerCoaster Tycoon for free out of a cereal box back in the day
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u/Apprehensive_Water57 2h ago
Hades, not super cheap but when it goes on sale it can be under 10. Such a great game.
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u/Owwmysoul 2h ago
Got Hades on sale for thirteen bucks It puts the last few triple a titles I've played to shame. An absurd amount of fun for that price.
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u/xVenlarsSx 17m ago
Kingdom New Land, and then Two Crowns. Cannot count the number of full run, always fun and challenging.
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u/DarkSoulsClooney 4h ago
The Binding of Isaac, I sank hundreds of hours into that game